How do you get hair out of bone?

[farmmom]

My nephew came over the other day and found a goat skull in my compost pile and carried it home with him. Now he's trying to figure out how to get all the hair off it and out of all the crevices. He's soaked it in bleach for a few days trying to get it white. How do you get all the hair out of the little spaces?

[Windy in Kansas]

From a handy dandy extension service 4H bulletin----

ag.arizona.edu/pubs/natresources/az1144.pdf

[Bearfootfarm]

Soaking in plain water will help, along with a lot of careful scraping.
Another method is to simmer (NOT boil) it for a while before scraping.
If you over cook it though, the bones can seperate.

[ksfarmer]

simmer it in water with peroxide. That will loosen all hair and tissue and bleach the skull white. You can bring it to a boil but, Don't boil too long tho or as Bearfootfarm says, the bones will separate.

[ronron]

Use a small torch and burn singe the hair.

[highlands]

We use insects. Put the skulls out in a place safe from bigger animals and the skulls are cleaned off soon. It helps to have them stay moist. I cover them with hay and a tarp. I have some beautiful skulls from doing this.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

[Jenn]

I would set it on a fireant hill. Or bury and dig up in a few months a la Walt